Finance, Personal Financial Planning Concentration, B.S.B.A.

Personal financial planning is the process of managing financial resources to achieve individual goals. It is a six-step process-determine current financial conditions, develop financial goals, identify alternative courses of action, evaluate alternatives, create and implement a financial plan, and evaluate and revise the plan. The basic elements of personal financial plan include cash flow/budgeting analysis, insurance needs, employee benefits, education funding requirements, investment decision, analysis of debt, portfolio analysis, retirement planning, forecasting retirement benefits and costs, income tax planning, and estate planning.

B.S.B.A. Core Requirements

All B.S.B.A. majors in the John L. Grove College of Business should satisfactorily complete the 100-/200-level business core courses during their freshman and sophomore years and the 300-400-level business core courses during their junior and senior years, as listed below.

Required Courses in Related Fields

Required Courses in the John L. Grove College of Business

BSN 101 - Foundations of Business Administration Credits: 2
MIS 142 - Business Computer Systems Credits: 3
SCM 200 - Statistical Applications in Business Credits: 3
Digital Marketing & Analytics concentration must earn a C or better in this course.
ACC 200 - Fundamentals of Financial Accounting Credits: 3
Accounting majors must earn a C or better in this course.
ACC 201 - Managerial Accounting Credits: 3
Accounting majors must earn a C or better in this course.
MKT 205 - Principles of Marketing Credits: 3
Marketing Management and Digital Marketing & Analytics concentrations must earn a C or better in this course.
BSL 261 - American Legal Environment Credits: 3
ECO 280 - Managerial Economics Credits: 3
MGT 305 - Organizational Behavior Credits: 3
FIN 311 - Financial Management Credits: 3
SCM 330 - Supply Chain and Operations Management Credits: 3
MGT 447 - Business and Society Credits: 3
MGT 497 - Strategic Management Credits: 3

Note:

Students who place at the advanced level in the mathematics placement/competency test are not required to take MAT 140A /MAT 140B . In lieu of MAT 140A /MAT 140B , students are required to take an additional free elective.
Completion of ECO 101 and ECO 102 will satisfy the requirement for ECO 113 .
MAT 117B with a C or better, taken at Shippensburg University prior to declaring a program of study in the Grove College of Business will be accepted in lieu of SCM 200 .
MAT 117A with a C or better will be accepted in lieu of SCM 200 .

Major Course Requirements

Students should meet with their faculty advisor to plan the sequencing of their major program of study. Students interested in a double major and/or minor shall be required to take the prescribed courses in each respective major and/or minor. Students can double count one course between business majors with the permission of the respective department chair(s). Refer to the index under Double Majors and Minors for further information.

Personal Financial Planning Concentration

Required (21 crs.)

General Education

General Education Requirements

General Education Program

General Education Requirements Specific for this major

Quantitative (Q): MAT 181
Critical Reasoning (R) ECO 113

Personal Financial Planning Career Opportunities

The field of financial planning is experiencing substantial growth. The public’s need for professional financial advice has been increasing drastically due to the changes in demographics and financial regulation. U.S.News and World Report lists personal financial planning as one of the 20 hot jobs for the 21st century. With a specialty in personal financial planning, you can choose a career within a full array of jobs. Typically, you can be a self-employed financial advisor or work for depository and non-depository financial institutions such as banks, saving institutions, credit unions, brokerage firms, investment companies, and insurance agencies. Alternative options include accounting firms, law offices, and human resource and employee benefit departments, among others. Current salaries are highly competitive and the current average income for experienced financial planners depends upon the specific career option selected and the geographic region.